The edoc-Server, the insitutional digital repository system of the Robert Koch Institute captures, stores, indexes, preserves, and distributes digital research material. http://edoc.rki.de:80 2026-03-15T05:41:35Z 2026-03-15T05:41:35Z Loenenbach, Anna Haas, Walter Lehfeld, Ann-Sophie Prahm, Kerstin Preuß, Ute AMELAG-Team Buchholz, Udo http://edoc.rki.de/176904/13542 2026-03-13T11:09:52Z 2026-03-13T00:00:00Z

GrippeWeb-Wochenbericht KW10 Loenenbach, Anna; Haas, Walter; Lehfeld, Ann-Sophie; Prahm, Kerstin; Preuß, Ute; AMELAG-Team; Buchholz, Udo

2026-03-13T00:00:00Z Fiebig, Uwe Krüger, Luise Denner, Joachim http://edoc.rki.de/176904/13541 2026-03-12T13:32:24Z 2024-01-03T00:00:00Z

Determination of the Copy Number of Porcine Endogenous Retroviruses (PERV) in Auckland Island Pigs Repeatedly Used for Clinical Xenotransplantation and Elimination of PERV-C Fiebig, Uwe; Krüger, Luise; Denner, Joachim Auckland Island pigs represent an inbred population of feral pigs isolated on the sub-Antarctic island for over 100 years. The animals have been maintained under pathogen-free conditions in New Zealand; they are well characterized virologically and have been used as donor sources in first clinical trials of porcine neonatal islet cell transplantation for the treatment of human diabetes patients. The animals do not carry any of the xenotransplantation-relevant viruses, and in the first clinical trials, no porcine viruses, including porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs) were transmitted to the human recipients. PERVs pose a special risk in xenotransplantation, since they are part of the pig genome. When the copy number of PERVs in these animals was analyzed using droplet digital PCR and primers binding to a conserved region of the polymerase gene (PERVpol), a copy number typical for Western pigs was found. This confirms previous phylogenetic analyses of microsatellites as well as mitochondrial analyses showing a closer relationship to European pigs than to Chinese pigs. When kidney cells from very young piglets were analyzed, only around 20 PERVpol copies were detected. Using these cells as donors in somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), animals were born showing PERVpol copy numbers between 35 and 56. These data indicate that Auckland Island pigs have a similar copy number in comparison with other Western pig breeds and that the copy number is higher in adult animals compared with cells from young piglets. Most importantly, PERV-C-free animals were selected and the absence of an additional eight porcine viruses was demonstrated.

2024-01-03T00:00:00Z Fleischer, Ramona Eibner, Georg Joachim Schwensow, Nina Isabell Pirzer, Fabian Paraskevopoulou, Sofia Mayer, Gerd Corman, Victor Max Drosten, Christian Wilhelm, Kerstin Heni, Alexander Christoph Sommer, Simone Schmid, Dominik Werner http://edoc.rki.de/176904/13540 2026-03-12T13:28:49Z 2024-02-10T00:00:00Z

Immunogenetic-pathogen networks shrink in Tome’s spiny rat, a generalist rodent inhabiting disturbed landscapes Fleischer, Ramona; Eibner, Georg Joachim; Schwensow, Nina Isabell; Pirzer, Fabian; Paraskevopoulou, Sofia; Mayer, Gerd; Corman, Victor Max; Drosten, Christian; Wilhelm, Kerstin; Heni, Alexander Christoph; Sommer, Simone; Schmid, Dominik Werner Anthropogenic disturbance may increase the emergence of zoonoses. Especially generalists that cope with disturbance and live in close contact with humans and livestock may become reservoirs of zoonotic pathogens. Yet, whether anthropogenic disturbance modifies host-pathogen co-evolutionary relationships in generalists is unknown. We assessed pathogen diversity, neutral genome-wide diversity (SNPs) and adaptive MHC class II diversity in a rodent generalist inhabiting three lowland rainforest landscapes with varying anthropogenic disturbance, and determined which MHC alleles co-occurred more frequently with 13 gastrointestinal nematodes, blood trypanosomes, and four viruses. Pathogen-specific selection pressures varied between landscapes. Genome-wide diversity declined with the degree of disturbance, while MHC diversity was only reduced in the most disturbed landscape. Furthermore, pristine forest landscapes had more functional important MHC–pathogen associations when compared to disturbed forests. We show co-evolutionary links between host and pathogens impoverished in human-disturbed landscapes. This underscores that parasite-mediated selection might change even in generalist species following human disturbance which in turn may facilitate host switching and the emergence of zoonoses.

2024-02-10T00:00:00Z Fleischer, Ramona Eibner, Georg Joachim Schwensow, Nina Isabell Pirzer, Fabian Paraskevopoulou, Sofia Mayer, Gerd Corman, Victor Max Drosten, Christian Wilhelm, Kerstin Heni, Alexander Christoph Sommer, Simone Schmid, Dominik Werner http://edoc.rki.de/176904/13539 2026-03-12T13:06:57Z 2024-05-25T00:00:00Z

Author Correction: Immunogenetic-pathogen networks shrink in Tome’s spiny rat, a generalist rodent inhabiting disturbed landscapes Fleischer, Ramona; Eibner, Georg Joachim; Schwensow, Nina Isabell; Pirzer, Fabian; Paraskevopoulou, Sofia; Mayer, Gerd; Corman, Victor Max; Drosten, Christian; Wilhelm, Kerstin; Heni, Alexander Christoph; Sommer, Simone; Schmid, Dominik Werner

2024-05-25T00:00:00Z